I AM MAWD

MAWD is the moniker of California musician Madeleine Mathews. Citing contemporary acts such as The Head and the Heart, The Staves, First Aid Kit, and the Alabama Shakes as influences, MAWD’s sound gravitates towards an eclectic mix of genres including indie folk, folk rock, cosmic Americana, with a touch of pure rock n’ roll. The soulful, textured timbre of MAWD is diverse and ranges anywhere from a breathy and sultry folk/blues vibe to a powerful Janis Joplin-esque/Karen O. belt. Her vocals perfectly imprint upon the sonic foundation laid by quivering electric guitar, haunting harmonies, classic acoustic folk rhythms, southwestern inspired americana bass lines, and full percussion. While her strong suits lie in singing, songwriting, and lyricism, Madeleine plays piano, guitar, ukulele, bass, and some banjo, as well.

Born and bred in Northern California, Madeleine made her mark around her hometown of Placerville by playing her original songs at weekly local open mic nights. Recently graduated with a BA in Music (focusing in music industry), Madeleine found a community in her college’s (California State University, Chico) music department and blossoming local scene while fronting and writing for numerous bands, winning singer/songwriter competitions and playing at all of Chico's top venues.

Now recording under the pseudonym MAWD, Madeleine is working with Roger Gisborne of Los Angeles based record label Sound x 3 and The Cave Studio owner/producer/songwriter Josiah Mezzaschi (Deap Vally, Rilo Kiley, Kate Nash, The Jesus and the Mary Chain) to refine her sound. She has recently released her debut self-titled EP (listen here on Spotify) on May 12,2017 which was mastered by Brian Lucey (The Black Keys, The Shins, The Kills, Beck). With less than a year under her belt promoting herself as MAWD, Madeleine has already toured all over Sweden for the “Across the Pond Tour” (in which there have already been requests from venues and festivals for her to return) , played countless shows across California including a sold out show at The Hotel Cafe with Larkin Poe, The Hi Hat, Sofar Sounds, Gibson Center (on the same line-up as rock legend Robby Kreiger of The Doors), Youbloom Festival, and has many more big shows booked in LA for 2018. She has been interviewed by various newspapers, blogs, and radio station, been featured on KCSN 88.5 LA Buzzbands Hour, KCSC, and KZFR Radio as well as in multiple indie blogs, Instagram music blogs, and featured twice on the indie Spotify playlist blog Indie Happy Hour. She was recently named one of BuzzbandsLA's top artist to watch in 2018. She has garnered the interest of various sync companies competing neck and neck with top acts like Mumford & Sons and First Aid Kit for placements. She has recently moved to Los Angeles, CA and in that short time already started making a name for herself with interest from established songwriters, bookers, producers, and more. MAWD is planning on touring to SXSW in the Spring, releasing a stripped down Third Man Records style EP in early 2018, and is currently back in the studio working on her next album as well as perfecting her live shows with her LA backing band.